Two Surveys Put Schwartz Among City's Top Doctors

BY LINDA J. WILSON

Cardiologist William J. Schwartz, M.D., whose "Heart To Heart" column appeals to a wide swath of Gazette readers, received two honors this past spring. A supplement to the April 27 New York TimesMagazine listed him as one of New York City's Super Doctors for 2008 and just last week he was listed among 1,434 physicians considered the best in their respective specialties by New York Magazine.

Like many of the physicians listed in both surveys, Schwartz is a graduate of the highly regarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in The Bronx, in his case in 1975. He performed his internship and residency at Bronx Municipal Hospital Center and became board certified in internal medicine in 1978 and in cardiology in 1981.

Schwartz, who can admit patients to Lenox Hill Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and the Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens in Long Island City, and has offices in Long Island City and Manhattan, has a wellearned reputation for helping his patients see the merit of a lifestyle that will add to their physical and mental well-being. Caryn Schwab, chief executive officer of Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens, and David Nieman, M.D., the hospital's chief medical officer, underscored the confidence and trust Schwartz' patients place in him when they congratulated him on his being recognized as a New York Super Doctor. "We already know how talented and exceptional you are," they said. "It was wonderful to see you being recognized for the excellent care you provide in our community." Schwartz' patients would appear to wholeheartedly agree.

Neither the New YorkTimes Magazine nor NewYork Magazine bestows the honor of a listing in their surveys lightly. The TimesMagazine survey is conducted by Key Professional Media, which performs the polling, research and selection for Super Doctors in a process designed to identify medical professionals who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

This year, Key Professional Media sent ballots to 18,312 doctors in the New York metropolitan area asking, "To whom would you refer a loved one or one of your patients for medical diagnosis and/or treatment?" Key Professional Media then grouped nominees into 31 medical practice areas and the nominees with the highest point totals from each practice area are invited to serve on a blue ribbon panel. Each blue ribbon panelist reviews and scores a list of nominees for his or her primary practice area. Schwartz was one of 2,520 physicians to undergo the scrutiny of a Key Professional blue ribbon review. He was one of the final 1,069 Super Doctors in the New York Metropolitan area whose years of experience, fellowships, scholarly lectures and writing, professional activity, hospital appointments, academic and leadership positions, board certifications and other achievements served to land him a top spot in the Cardiology category of the Super Doctors review.

The New York Magazine survey is conducted by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., a New York City research and information company that publishes an annual guidebook titled Top Doctors: New York Metro Area, listing more than 6,000 doctors determined by Castle Connolly through a peer-review survey to constitute the top 10 percent of the region's physicians. Some 12,000 nominations forms are sent out to randomly selected board-certified doctors; all doctors listed in the previous edition of Castle Connolly's annual guidebook; and, from every hospital in the area, the president or CEO, the vice-president of medical affairs, and up to eight chiefs of service in departments from surgery to pediatrics in New York City, Westchester County, Long Island and portions of New Jersey and Connecticut. The nominators are asked to take into account not only professional qualifications and reputation, including education, residency, board certification, hospital appointment, and disciplinary record, among other criteria, but also skills in dealing with patients (listening and communicating effectively, demonstrating empathy, instilling trust and confidence). The Castle Connolly staff tabulates the results and checks out the doctors' board certification and licensing and investigates their disciplinary history. All doctors listed were highly recommended by their peers and screened by Castle Connolly.